100 Cars for Good: 3 Nebraska Non-Profits Get New Cars

100 cars for good, it's a simple philosophy that's making a big difference for non-profits, and all the people they affect. Three Nebraska non-profits were lucky enough to be included.

"We're so used to getting older vehicles," said William Michener, the executive director at the Lighthouse. "So this is first of all a new car and it’s a hybrid so its going to help us with costs as well because were going to get better mileage.

It's a new Toyota Highlander Hybrid or Sienna mini-van, free of charge. It's part of Toyota's '100 Cars for Good.'

"Most of our young people don't have the resources," said Michener. "So we open the doors for them, and that's what were going to do. We're going to drive them places and show them their options in life so they can continue down their own path."

Along with the Lighthouse, the Food Bank of Lincoln and The Arbor Day Farm also won new cars. The Arbor Day Farm hosts conferences for conservation groups, they'll use their new Sienna to take visitors to and from the airport. They say Toyota's repuatation fits in line with the farm's mission.

"I think because of the people who are there and when you get in the environment you're just suddenly surrounded by conservation," said Doug Farrar, the Vice President of The Arbor Day Farm. "There are demonstrations, you can tell by the way the building is built, by the way we recycle things, (Toyota) just fits with what were doing. It's just one more of those pieces that says 'oh, they're really walking the walk."

The 100 non-profits chosen across the nation were voted on by every day people.

"We rallied our Facebook friends," said Scott Young of The Food Bank of Lincoln. "Then people passed it around, it became a viral internet thing, on Facebook. It gained us some Facebook friends that had to go on the Toyota website and vote for the non profit of their choice."

Three of Nebraska's non-profits won cars, that's more than any other state.

"I think it's a tribute to the kind of people we have here," said Farrar. "The people who will look at a cause and say, 'that's important I'll take the time to do that,' and people saying, 'I care about it.' It really shows support and the Midwestern ethics of saying let's help people who are doing good in any way we can."

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